Laborde, who wrote a few years later, seems to have copied some of his information from Bowles. "The Murcians," he said, "use in their houses little jars called _Bucaros_, the same as those which in some parts of Andalusia are called Alcarrazas.[93] They have handles open at the top, are smaller at the bottom than above, and bulge in the middle; they are slight, porous, smooth, and half-baked; they are made of a peculiar kind of clay. When water is put into them, they emit a smell like that sent up by the earth after a shower of rain in summer. The water makes its way very slowly through the pores, and keeps them constantly moist on the outside; they are used to cool water for drinking. The windows and balconies of all the houses have large iron rings, with a flat surface, on which they are placed at night, and the water, oozing incessantly, becomes very cool.[94] In Andalusia some of these jars are white, and others red; in Murcia they have only white ones. They appear to be in every respect of the same nature as the evaporating vases of Africa, Egypt, Syria, and India, of which so much has been said by travellers, and on which the learned have made so many dissertations." [93] One of the prettiest of the popular Spanish _coplas_ has the _alcarraza_ for its theme;-- "Alcarraza de tu casa chiquilla, quisiera ser, para besarte los labios cuando fueras á beber." "Dearest, I would be the _alcarraza_ in your house; so should I kiss your lips each time you drank from me." [94] Laborde's translator adds: "These jars are very common in Jamaica; they are of different sizes, from a pint to three pints. A number of them are ranged at night in the balconies, to furnish a supply of cool water. Coolers of a similar kind have been lately introduced in England."